


Is There Ever Enough Coffee?

by embalming_queen



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Max is of course an ex-cop, Nux is premed, professor Furiosa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 22:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4894165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embalming_queen/pseuds/embalming_queen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nux is a hard working premed student. Max is a widowed ex cop, pushing 40 and back in college.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a working title only and is subject to change.

The alarm on Nux’s cell phone rings, loud and shrill. Groggily, slowly, his hand finds its way out from under the pile of blankets to stop the noise. From beyond, outside his room, he can hear that his roommate, a strange boy who likes to be called Slit, has returned from his morning training session at the boxing gym. Huffing a sigh, hoping to find coffee, Nux rolls out of bed, pulling the covers back into a somewhat organized position. He pads into the kitchen, wiping at his eyes, and almost walks directly into Slit, who is absolutely dripping with sweat.

“Early start today, Slit?” he asks, reaching into a cabinet for a mug to pour the freshly brewed coffee into.

“Ah, sure, not too much earlier than usual,” Slit’s gruff voice is somehow even more scratchy today. “Joe is going hard on me lately, trying to get ready for the tournament.” Slit was one of the best boxers in the gym, apparently, and always had something to prove. Boxing was one of those things Nux enjoyed watching Slit do but wouldn’t ever dare try himself. No, cycling was more his speed, he thought as he sipped his coffee, and at that all he ever did was ride to school and back. Although, he told himself somewhat defensively, he did get in ten miles a day on his lazy day. Competitiveness, though, Nux understood on a deep and personal level. Competition had brought him from a truly mediocre family into a promising future. Graduating valedictorian, Nux had worked his way through a 4.0 in his premed studies, waiting tables and slinging coffee, saving every penny he had earned.

“What you got going on today?” Slit waved his hand in front of Nux’s face a little, snapping him out of his reverie and incidentally flinging a tiny droplet of sweat directly into the coffee cup the other held.

“Dude! That’s disgusting! You just sweat into my coffee,” Nux whined, pushing his roommate slightly.

“You’re going to drink it anyway,” Slit meets his eyes with a toothy smile. “You always do.

Indeed, Nux does with a shrug, refilling his cup and exiting the kitchen. Once he’s had a sufficient amount of caffeine to kick his brain into action, he realizes he is, indeed, awake an hour earlier than usual for a reason. First day of a new semester. Groaning internally, he remembers the freshman-level psychology course he enrolled in, somehow neglecting to take it when he was actually a freshman. Shuffling into the bathroom and turning on the shower to let it warm up, he strips his pajamas, folding them neatly and placing them onto the counter.

 

8 o’clock rolls around and Nux is sitting in a classroom, waiting for the professor to come in. Eyes toward the door, he sees an older man, clad in dark earth tones, limping a little, and his stomach does a tiny flip about how absolutely attractive this man is. Shit, he thinks, if this is our professor, this semester will be impossible. The man enters the classroom and Nux holds his breath for a long moment while the other surveys the room. Slowly, the man walks in… and sits down at the only empty desk in the room, right up front. What?! He’s a student?! Nux looks down at his notebook, where he painstakingly copied his schedule, complete with room number, class code, and professor name. ‘F. Bassa’ is all that’s written under ‘Prof. Name’. F? F?! Frank? Francine?! Nux finds himself wondering, for the first time in his college career, about the gender of his professor, almost thinking it MUST be this handsome man who sat down among the students. Could it be that this is our professor, he muses, playing a first day of school trick on us?  
He’s not left to wonder for long, as a woman with nearly shaved hair enters the room, wearing a smart business suit and one glove. One glove? Does this woman love Michael Jackson? Or is she disfigured, he wonders, then mentally slaps himself for thinking something so cruel. The woman closes the door loudly, striding to the desk at the front of the classroom.

“Good morning,” her voice is strong and confident, and Nux thinks he won’t mind listening to her talk for an hour at a time. “I’m Dr. Bassa, and no, you may not call me by anything else. I worked for my title and you will refer to me with it. Welcome to Citadel University.”

The rustling of syllabi being passed down rows takes the place of her voice, and Nux notices that she pauses by the older man’s desk, offering him a half smile. The man shifts uncomfortably and does not return it.

“Now that you all have a syllabus, we are going to spend some time getting to know one another. Let’s take turns telling us your name, your major, and your favourite type of candy,” Her eyes meet Nux’s on the last statement. Nux beams. He loves these games. He’s terrible at names but he will remember everyone by their last answer. People get assigned names like SnoCap Lover and Twizzler Fiend in his head on these occasions. The students go around as instructed and soon enough it’s his turn to speak.

“Hi! I’m Nux. Premed. My favourite type of candy is probably… sour patch kids,” he nods, proud that he could have made such a snap decision on such a tough question. Dr. Bassa smiles a little, and her gaze shifts to the person in the seat behind him, who mildly says she doesn’t eat candy. Nux’s eyes widen at this, and he turns to look at the girl behind him, whose long blonde hair swings in front of her face as she ducks her head a little. Her hands catch his attention and he finds himself wondering what the symbols tattooed on her knuckles mean. Contemplating a life without candy, he misses the next few people who speak. His attention is brought back to the present when an awkward silence hangs in the room. He looks around and all eyes are on the man on the front row, who shifts again, bringing his hand up to the back of his neck.

“Your name, your major, and your favourite candy,” prompts Dr. Bassa, lifting an eyebrow, an amused smile tugging at her lips.

“Ahh, mm, uhh... Max,” the man finally manages, and says no more. Max, Nux thinks, must be his name. He’s never heard of a candy called Max. He idly wishes to hear more of the man’s voice, to hear his laugh. Nux finds his mind wandering lower, wondering what other sounds this man must make, when he feels the heat rise to his cheeks and decides that train of thought is better followed on his own time. Other students have taken up the exercise and soon they are finished. Dr. Bassa releases them at 8:40, a little early, promising never to do it again. Nux stands and watches as Max gathers his things awkwardly and stays seated until almost all of the class has exited the room. The professor walks over to the desk where he is seated and exchanges a few soft words Nux can’t quite make out, but he does note that they sound very familiar with each other. Hmm, Nux muses. Did this mumbling stranger have a history with their teacher? He shrugs to himself and files that question away to think of at a later time as he steps into the bustling hall and heads toward his next class.

 

The rest of the day passes as the first day of school tends to - somewhat eventfully, but in a repetitious way. Mac And Cheese Pizza Weirdo was in his cell biology class, a character he had seen in the previous semester while working on trigonometry. When his day mercifully ends, he gets on his bike and pedals home, wondering if Slit has started dinner or if he’s forgotten that it’s his turn. The ride home passes quickly, Nux taking the opportunity to ‘drop the hammer,’ as he’s heard old cyclists call it, to get a good workout in. Arriving at his house he feels a familiar soreness creep into his legs. Pleased by this feeling, he swoops into the kitchen to see Slit over the stove and a redheaded girl sitting at the table.

“Cape, I didn’t know you were coming,” Nux says by way of greeting, and the girl rises to wrap him in a big hug.

“It’s Slit’s birthday week; I came to surprise him,” Capable, Slit’s sister, came to town once every month or so, to sleep on their couch for a few days. When he moved in with Slit, Nux had had a slight crush on the girl, and who could blame him? She’s truly beautiful, with soft features and long, wavy red hair. Slit often teases the girl that their mother should have named her Jolene, what with all the attention she gets when she goes out.

At this, Slit starts to grumble, plating the fish he was searing and turning to give Capable the most evil look he can muster for his precious angel sister. “Birthday, shmirthday,” he grunts, tossing a salad in a bowl and putting it on the table.

“I must say, the two of you have the best diet of any twenty-something single boys I know,” Capable exclaims, helping her brother put the plates on the table. They all tuck into dinner with a hearty appetite, clearing their plates before resuming conversation. When the topic drifts toward classes, Slit takes great joy in telling Capable that Nux is in a 1000 level psychology class. She, of course, asks all about it, and Nux can feel a blush creeping up his cheeks at the thought of the student who had captivated him earlier in the day. This flush does not go unnoticed and Nux is surprised at himself when he feels a little shy about discussing him.

“Ah, well,” he starts, not sure how to broach the subject. “I have this… classmate. He looks like he might be, oh, I don’t know, 10 years older? Well. What I do know is that when he walked in the door…”

At this, Slit starts making a hissing noise, “I don’t want all the gory details of your fantasies, Nuts, I’ve heard em all before,” he shakes his head, and Capable laughs.

“Well, I think you should talk to him,” she places a hand encouragingly on Nux’s arm, giving him an honestly dazzling smile. Instead of further discussion, Nux busies himself washing dishes, starting laundry, and preparing for the next day of school. By the time he’s finished with his chores and his readings for his classes, it’s late enough that he can sneak off to bed without much suspicion. When he lays down, he expects that his mind will fill with worries about the morning - as it usually does. Instead, the image in his mind is, pathetically, the back of Max’s head, tracing the edges of the short brown hair. He falls asleep much more quickly than usual.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks into the semester, Dr. Bassa announces a paired project and, much to the dismay of the class, who express this feeling with collective groaning, she will be assigning pairs. Nux says a little prayer in his head, crossing his fingers under his desk. Stopping himself, he wonders when he devolved into a prepubescent boy with a crush. Mentally shrugging, he went back to his little prayer as Dr. Bassa announced the pairings she’d come up with.

“Rockatansky, you’ll be working with Mr. Feldman,” she says, nodding in Nux’s direction. Rockatansky? Who on earth has a name like Rockatansky? he wonders. “Raise your hand, Mr. Feldman, Dr. Bassa bids, and Nux does so. His heart almost stops when he sees the man in the front row turn slightly and lock his blue-green eyes on his own. Glory be, he thinks, and smiles tentatively at the man. He thinks he sees the man’s lip quirk up a bit before he turns back around. The rest of the class passes in a blur, Nux trying desperately to turn his attention back to the lecture, taking notes that end up as more of a squiggly mess that sort of look like hearts.

When the lecture ends, the man remains seated, as he has done every day since the semester started. But this time, instead of slipping out the door, Nux approaches him slowly.

“Rockatansky? That’s your name?” he asks, feeling a bit stupid when he hears this question fall from his lips in a tumble. Of course that’s his name, Dr. Bassa said it right in front of him.

“Yeh, Rockatansky,” the man (Max, Nux reminds himself, his name is Max) breathes, and looks at Nux for a long moment before continuing. “Furi--- ahh… Dr. Bassa seems to have a good handle on people. Should be fine.”

Nux releases a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Fury? Is that her first name? How does he know that? As soon as he opens his mouth to question Max, the older man stands up and hands him a business card, telling him to call over the weekend and they will sort out a time and place to work together on it. He limps out the door, leaving Nux and Dr. Bassa in the classroom. Nux looks up at his professor, who is erasing the board and gathering her notes, and shakes his head in disbelief. She pays no attention to him, so he slowly turns and walks out into the hall.

 

When his day is through and he gets home, it’s his day to make dinner. He sets upon the task, pulling ground beef from the refrigerator and beginning his grandmother’s famous spaghetti recipe. He smiles to himself as he prepares it, remembering the day she chose to release the recipe to one of her many grandchildren - him. No one else in the family had the recipe, although they all begged him for it that day and for weeks to follow. Cooking in relative quiet, he wonders where his roommate could be, and just when he thought he’d be eating dinner alone, his curiosity is met by the sound of the door opening. In walks Slit, surprisingly clean and well dressed, followed by a short girl whose dark hair is cut in a pixie style, making her look like a mean fairy.

“Having company for dinner,” Slit announces to Nux. “This is Toast. She goes to my gym.” Toast? Like bread? She must see the look on Nux’s face because she levels a look at him that seems to say ‘yes, Toast, what of it?’ and Nux cheerfully extends a hand to her, introducing himself.

“No one that has ever been in this house has a normal name,” Nux attempts, and when Toast raises an eyebrow and quirks her lip up as if to prompt him, he continues. “Nux, Slit, his sister’s name is Capable…”

“Capable? She a redhead?” Toast inquires, looking over at Slit with an unreadable expression.

“Yeah, of course… you know her?” Slit’s eyebrows raise and he trades a glance with Nux.

“Yeah, I know her, she’s my roommate.”

“No shit, you live at the Green place too?” Nux asks, thinking of the big house named after the couple who had lived there for years before selling it to whoever owns it now. He pulls plates out of the cabinet and sets them on the table before transferring the spaghetti to a serving bowl. Slit and Toast take the hint, Toast sitting down while Slit gets out flatware and drinking glasses. When everyone has gotten a drink and taken a seat, Nux serves them all. They make slightly awkward conversation while they eat, and Nux mentally pats himself on the back for not doing anything too silly around this new person that Slit has moved his seat a bit closer to.

“Wait… You’re Capable’s brother… and you’re his roommate. I’ve heard about you!” Toast’s face splits into what Nux can only describe as a shit eating grin. Fuck, he thinks to himself, what did Capable say about him? So much for the nothing stupid. Realizing she’s continued speaking, he snaps his attention back to her. “She described both of you to me, I just never connected the ‘tall, bald dork of a brother’ to the best boxer at the gym! And you, she did you NO justice. You’re way cuter than she said… although she does kind of have weird taste in humans.”

Slit meets Nux’s eyes with a look that practically screams ‘oh-my-god we are going to kill Capable.’ They both start scrambling to defend themselves when she starts laughing, hard. They stop mid-sentence to look between her and each other, clueless as to this seemingly random behavior. Toast is giggling herself into near-hysterics and Slit carefully reaches out to move her plate a little farther away from her, just in case. She slows her laughing after a long moment and manages to get a sentence out. “Cape told me you guys would react like that if I started talking shit.”

“So… you knew I was her brother? You’re a good actress,” Slit practically has to pick his jaw up off the floor. Nux can almost see his pupils turning into hearts. He quietly gets up and starts to clear up from dinner, portioning out the leftovers for lunches over the next few days.

Their conversation becomes white noise in his ear as he moves down the hall to start on his homework. When he opens his notebook he sees a piece of paper flutter toward the floor. Leaning over to grab it, he remembers Max holding it out toward him. His hand makes contact with it and he raises it to read the text. ‘Max Rockatansky,’ it says, dark green on ecru paper. Below the name are phone numbers, a fax number, and an email. Nux wonders, looking at this business card, if Mr. Rockatansky has a Facebook page. He flips open his laptop and waits for it to make internet connection, musing about how active it would be if he had one, how many pictures he could find.

When the connection is made, he loads the page and does a quick search. Four results. Four Max Rockatanskys on Facebook. The first result looks kind of like his classmate, and he clicks the name to bring up the page. It is, indeed, his Max’s page. (His Max? he questions himself, thinking that it was far too personal to have said.) When the page loads he sees that it is almost completely bare. The only things Max has posted at all are profile pictures and one upload of a group of police officers. Weird, Nux thinks to himself, that he would have posted that. Unless, of course, he WAS a police officer. He starts to scan the picture for any familiarity, but the resolution is too low to be able to make anything out. Clicking on the profile picture, Nux begins to scan through the few Max had posted. He comes across one of him with a woman, both of them beaming. The next image is of the two of them again, but this time the woman has a big pregnant belly. Is Max married? Has a kid? Nux didn’t notice a ring when he looked for one, only a slightly lighter ring of skin on that particular finger. Maybe he’s divorced. But if he married a woman, what are the chances that he’d have any interest in Nux? Clicking away from the page and opening a textbook, Nux asks himself why he decided to go looking for trouble. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has not been edited; forgive any errors.

Nux waits until Saturday afternoon to call Max, stomach aflutter. The phone rings four agonizing times before the older man answers, and Nux thinks he can hear music in the background.

Max's voice is terse, "Hello?"

"Yeah, hi, this is Nux. You told me to call about our project?"

"Nux?" Max pauses, "Hm. Feldman? Freshman psych?"

"Y-yeah... exactly," Nux kicks himself mentally. Of course Max would need context.

The conversation is brief, and they end up agreeing to meet the following Friday afternoon at Max's house. As he recites his address to Nux, the younger man's stomach gives an extra flip-flop. They hang up the phone and Nux pencils the appointment into his planner, tucking it into his backpack when he is done.

 

The following week drags slowly by. At the coffeeshop, customers are stingier than usual, and in class, Max seems to pay no more attention to Nux than he ever had. But finally, Friday rolls around. When his alarm clock rings, he bolts out of bed and into the kitchen to make coffee. Slit must still be at the gym, as the house is silent, save the bubbling of the coffee pot. When the coffee is finished, Nux switches off the machine and pours himself a cup, enjoying the quiet for a moment.

The moment ends abruptly when the front door swings open and Slit is puffing into the house, sweating and taking long drinks from his water bottle as he drops his gym backpack onto the floor.

"What, did you run to the gym?" Nux asks, opening the cabinet under the sink to retrieve the Lysol, to spray down Slit's stinky boxing gloves.

"Good morning, sunshine," Slit bats his eyelashes a little. "Yes, I ran to the gym. It eliminates the need for a warm up." With that, he tosses his hand-wraps over the kitchen door to let them dry and pours himself a cup of coffee. Taking a sip, he exclaims, "Woah! Fully leaded, huh? Oh yeah... isn't your date today?" he smirks as a blush creeps across his roommate's face.

"My study session is today," Nux tries to defend himself, throwing up his hands and stalking out of the kitchen as Slit starts making kissy noises.  
Nux has to admit to himself that he is nervous to have one on one time with his mysterious classmate. As he styles his hair and picks out his clothing for the day, he thinks about the upcoming afternoon and how it might turn out. Will it be awkward? Will they have fun? Settling on the jeans he knows make his butt look good and the sweater that make his eyes look brighter, he realizes he has picked out a date outfit and smiles a little. Hurrying to finish readying himself for his school day, he thinks about bicycling across town and showing up to Max's house sweaty. Taking a moment to reapply his deodorant, he puts it into his bag, just to be safe.

Slit yells something surely vulgar from the bathroom as Nux zips his backpack and heads out the door for school. He pedals a little slower than normal, taking precautions not to exert himself too much. The day passes excruciatingly slowly, but Nux swears he sees Max's lips pull into a tiny smile when they make eye contact. His own stomach, of course, flips at the sight of the older man.

Thankfully, their appointment time gives Nux just enough time to pedal home and brush his teeth before starting the four mile ride to Max's house. When he pulls up, he is in complete awe of the house bearing the right address. Sure, the trim could use a fresh coat of paint, but the atomic ranch style of the 1950's and 60's has always been his absolute favorite style of home architecture. He realizes he's been staring and, leaning his bike carefully against the brick wall, steps onto the porch to knock. When his hand makes contact with the door, he hears a dog bark and Max scold it gently before the door swings open. There he stands, no longer in his business casual earth tones. Max is barefoot, clad in grey sweatpants that have seen better days, and a local police department t shirt.

"Hi," Nux smiles a little. "I love your house. I hope I'm not late."

Max makes a little pleased grunt before stepping aside, dog collar in hand, to allow the younger man into the house. "This is John," Max nods to the black labrador in the collar he has ahold of.

"Good name," Nux bends to pet the dog. Stepping into the house, he closes the door behind him and stops for a moment to take in Max's house. It's clean but worn, definitely not new or fashionable. The couch is well on its way to threadbare, and there is a stack of firewood laying on the hearth. Above the mantle hangs a collage of photographs, and Nux can see that some of the original ones which hung there are missing - some darker patches of wallpaper hang empty among the frames.

"Ah..." Max starts, lifting his arm to gesture toward the collage "I used to be a cop."

"Really?" Nux grins. "Is it like in the movies?" But his smile falters as he sees the stormclouds of old memories fall across the other man's face. "Well, let's get started on this project."

Max seems relieved, and leads Nux into the kitchen, all pale green enamel and formica, to a steel and enamel dining table with four chairs. Nux sits and Max offers him a cup of hot tea, which the other gladly accepts. When the kettle is set on the stove, Nux looks through the extensive collection of teas, settling on Earl Grey, which Max nods approvingly to, choosing the same for himself. They sit in silence until the kettle boils. While the tea steeps, Max puts cream, sugar, and a few snacks on the table in front of them, as well as two small cups.

"This is really nice," Nux taps the cast iron teapot, smiling up at his study partner. Max nods, lip quirking up into a slight smile, easing himself into a chair across the table. The younger man takes a moment to enjoy the steam rising lazily from the teapot, and looks around the kitchen. Stainless steel containers, labeled meticulously with their contents, line the counter, along with some glass jars, full of various types of beans and grains. Only one thing in his vision does not match the faded mid-century vibe, and that is a bright yellow bag on the table in front of him. Sour Patch Kids.

"You like Sour Patch Kids too?" he looks up at the other man, who grimaces a little.

"Mmm, no... More of a lemon drop man, myself," his eyes meet Nux's and then drop to the teapot.

"So.. you bought some candy you don't like?" Nux is flabbergasted. This man who pays no apparent attention to anyone in the classroom at all, this mysterious ex-cop, remembered Nux's favorite candy and went out of his way to get it? No way. He opens his mouth to follow the thought when Max clears his throat, raises an eyebrow, and levels his gaze to meet Nux's, suggesting they get to work. The dog, who had wandered into the kitchen with them, settles down beneath the table and yawns.

They work well together, they find. Both are willing to do an equal share of the project, and what one dislikes doing, the other prefers. Three hours pass with ease, and it isn't until Nux's stomach growls that he realizes the time.

"Ah, yes..." Max starts, closing his mouth to consider what to say next. Nux has noticed that he likes to take his time to gather his thoughts before saying anything. "I haven't been to the grocery in a few days... No dinner."

"That's okay, I think my roommate is cooking," Nux shrugs, and they make plans to get back together and work more on the project next Friday. Their goodbyes are short, and Nux smiles all the way home.


End file.
